When Mike saw Shadow Nine, he always felt that Shadow Nine seemed a bit distracted.
Shadow Nine got straight to the point, “Kid, didn’t you have something to ask Apollo? Let’s go, I’ll take you.”
Mike: ???
Was Shadow Nine in cahoots with Apollo, planning to deceive him?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
There had to be something more behind Shadow Nine’s actions!
“Can we go a bit later?” Mike said seriously, “I haven’t showered in hours. It’s not polite to meet the Supreme Being of humanity like this, right?”
A blade light flashed, narrowly missing Mike.
“Are you clean now?”
Mike: “I can’t wait to meet Apollo! Shadow Nine, take me there now!”
Shadow Nine snorted coldly and said no more.
Mike didn’t know why Shadow Nine was acting this way, but he suspected something had happened.
Back on Earth, a white cloud was already waiting for Mike.
The cloud lifted Mike, flying him up to the ninety-ninth floor of the Tower of Truth.
Inside was the Tower of Truth Otaku, Supreme Being Apollo.
Outside was the potential Supreme Being, Thor.
And a shadow was left behind, not following the cloud.
From the portal, Cedric Blackwell emerged, his expression slightly tense.
“Shadow Nine, you mentioned something happened to Calderon. What did you mean?”
Calderon, inside the black coffin, had the genuine combat power of an Ultimate Lord, even among the top tier of Ultimate Lords.
Mainly because humanity didn’t have many Ultimate Lords, any one of them was considered top-tier.
As per Morpheus’s instructions, the black coffin was placed in the Forest of Truth.
With Morpheus in the Forest of Truth and Apollo in the Tower of Truth, what could possibly go wrong with a mere Ultimate Lord?
Did Calderon break through to level 1000, leave Earth, and disappear?
Shadow Nine’s hoarse voice said, “Follow me.”
Without further words, the two headed straight to the depths of the Forest of Truth.
In front of the Monument of Faith, the black coffin was upright again, with the coffin lid placed beside it.
On the coffin lid lay two ‘corpses.’
One was a bloody mess, unrecognizable, not even human-shaped.
The other was extremely old, somewhat familiar, looking like the long-lost Calderon, but with a horrific blade wound on his chest.
Cedric Blackwell was a bit surprised, pointing at the old corpse, and asked, “What’s going on here?”
Shadow Nine coldly replied, “That’s the 320-year-old Calderon. After discovering his anomaly, I took the time to slash him to death.”
Cedric Blackwell pointed at the other corpse, “And this one?”
“The 17-year-old Calderon.”
Shadow Nine’s tone was unfriendly, “He ran amok on the Abyss battlefield and was brought back by Shadow One.”
Cedric Blackwell’s expression grew more serious, and he asked again, “What’s really going on?”
“It starts with Calderon’s talent…”
Shadow Nine paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts.
“You might not know, Calderon’s talent is called [Near-Death Power Up], Second Awakening, SS-grade. Every time he experiences life and death, teetering on the edge of death, his strength increases significantly.”
This was the first time Cedric Blackwell had heard of this.
Everyone’s talent, in a sense, was a closely guarded secret.
Even comrades who had fought together wouldn’t inquire about each other’s talents unless
necessary.
Thinking back, Calderon always charged ahead in battles, only stopping when severely injured.
And after recovering from severe injuries, he would immediately be full of vigor, his strength reaching new heights.
So that’s how it was.
Shadow Nine continued,
“After Morpheus’s battle with the Supreme Demon God, Calderon started acting strangely, secretly plotting something. After Ares fought the Supreme Demon God, Calderon began crafting the black coffin for himself.”
The black coffin, strictly speaking, was crafted by the Supreme Being.
However, few knew that Calderon had actively requested its creation.
Cedric Blackwell nodded slightly.
If Calderon’s talent was [Near-Death Power Up], given his state over the years, it was truly a matter of ‘teetering on the edge of life and death’!
The longer he stayed severely injured, the stronger he would be upon recovery!
With Calderon’s personality, he would do something this crazy to become stronger.
Cedric Blackwell had a rough idea and asked, “So, Calderon went mad on the ninety-fifth floor
of the Tower of Truth?”
“Yes.”
Shadow Nine nodded, “I suspect my student was involved in this.”
Shadow Nine looked up at the Tower of Truth, “Back then, Calderon knew the ninety-fifth floor was extremely dangerous but forced his way through. He failed, losing his sanity. If Apollo hadn’t intervened, he would have died on the ninety-fifth floor.
After that, he went on a rampage on the Abyss battlefield, was severely injured, and was eventually sealed in the black coffin.”
Pointing at the black coffin, Shadow Nine said seriously, “When the black coffin was opened, Calderon split into nine. Each ‘Calderon’ is of a different age, with strength matching their age. It’s like… different stages of Calderon’s life appearing simultaneously.”
Nine Calderons?
Listening to Shadow Nine’s explanation, Cedric Blackwell felt a headache coming on.
One Calderon was already troublesome enough, now there were nine!
What was this madman plotting?
Shadow Nine pointed at the corpses on the ground,
“The escaped Calderons must be confronted by their ‘peers.’ Defeat them and bring them back to the black coffin. Of course, if it’s too troublesome, just slash them to death; they won’t truly die. Once all nine Calderons are gathered… damn it, I don’t even know what will
happen!”
Cedric Blackwell glanced at the corpses and the black coffin, then suddenly said, “This is all Morpheus’s doing, isn’t it?”
The arrangement of the black coffin had the intervention of a Supreme Being behind it.
Now that Calderon had escaped the black coffin and split into nine, without Morpheus’s involvement, a madman who had been insane for years couldn’t have made such a precise
arrangement.
“Probably not just him.”
The black mist looked up at the Tower of Truth.
His student (disciple) also played a significant role.
The relationship between Shadow Nine and Apollo was simple.
If he didn’t ask, Apollo wouldn’t tell.
Clearly, after Thor’s emergence, Shadow Nine focused most of his attention on nurturing the
potential Supreme Being and obtaining the [Supreme Mark].
He never expected an old madman lying in a coffin for years to cause such a big mess!
In fact, more than half of what Shadow Nine had just explained was told to him by Apollo.
After discovering Calderon had escaped the coffin, with Apollo’s help, Shadow Nine quickly figured out the situation and retrieved two Calderons.
Cedric Blackwell was silent for a moment, then asked again, “You said Calderon split into nine. There are two here; where are the remaining seven?”
No matter what Calderon was plotting, finding all nine Calderons was the top priority.
Shadow Nine pointed to the outskirts of the forest,
“Four are in various locations in the Forest of Truth, all with strength above nine-tier Lords.
These four won’t run; the Guardian Shadow can handle them.”
“Alright.”
Cedric Blackwell nodded, “The real trouble is the three missing Calderons.”
As they spoke, the portal outside the Forest of Truth opened again, and a powerful figure
stepped out.
Both men instantly sensed something unusual.
“Calderon’s aura?!”
Shadow Nine and Cedric Blackwell’s figures disappeared from their spots, appearing beside
the portal.
“Why is it you?!”
Shadow Nine frowned, momentarily unable to make sense of the situation.
Maxen, carrying Dorakos, looked curiously at the two who had come to greet him.
“Mr. Shadow Nine, Cedric Blackwell, what a coincidence?”
Maxen casually tossed the figure on his shoulder to the ground, not seeking any credit, and
boasted,
“Shadow Nine, on my way back, I encountered someone impersonating Calderon! Calderon was very good to me; he even named me! This guy dared to impersonate Calderon in
front of me. How could I tolerate that? I killed him with three punches!”
After speaking, Maxen gave himself a thumbs-up and grinned,
“I am so strong!”
Shadow Nine and Cedric Blackwell exchanged glances, understanding each other’s thoughts.
Nine Calderons had escaped, four stayed in the Forest of Truth, and three had already been
found.
If this was Calderon’s meticulously planned escape, then in his half-mad, half-sane state, his intelligence had significantly declined.
The escape plan was more than half over before it even began.
Both men had the same thought: two more to go!
Find the remaining two Calderons, kill them… no, they meant bring Calderon back intact and
help complete his plan!
Shadow Nine and Cedric Blackwell both smirked.
They suddenly felt that Calderon’s escape plan might not be such a bad thing after all.